Get help from your Google Assistant

JBL Link 500 has the Google Assistant built-in. It is your own personal Google. Always ready to help. Discover more at assistant.google.com/discover

Hands-free voice control

Far-field voice recognition allows for easy hands-free operation. Ask questions across the room and the JBL Link 500 will respond. Check out compatible services and more at assistant.google.com/discover

24 bit/96kHz High quality sound, powered by the cloud

Chromecast streams directly from the cloud, so you get the highest sound quality. Enjoy crystal clear sound exactly the way the artist intended.

Multi-room playback across speakers that have Chromecast built-in

Easily set up your system and control multi-room playback with the Google Home app. A step by step guide allows you to quickly start streaming your music.

2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi connection network support

Support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connection, resulting in a faster, robust and more stable wireless connection.

Wireless Bluetooth streaming

Wirelessly stream high-quality sound from your smartphone or tablet.

Stereo sound with deep bass and clear highs

A 2-way acoustic design equipped with a pair of high performance JBL transducers to fill a bigger room with amazing stereo sound, deep bass and clear highs.

Get help from your Google Assistant

JBL Link 500 has the Google Assistant built-in. It is your own personal Google. Always ready to help. Discover more at assistant.google.com/discover

Hands-free voice control

Far-field voice recognition allows for easy hands-free operation. Ask questions across the room and the JBL Link 500 will respond. Check out compatible services and more at assistant.google.com/discover

24 bit/96kHz High quality sound, powered by the cloud

Chromecast streams directly from the cloud, so you get the highest sound quality. Enjoy crystal clear sound exactly the way the artist intended.

Multi-room playback across speakers that have Chromecast built-in

Easily set up your system and control multi-room playback with the Google Home app. A step by step guide allows you to quickly start streaming your music.

2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi connection network support

Support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connection, resulting in a faster, robust and more stable wireless connection.

Wireless Bluetooth streaming

Wirelessly stream high-quality sound from your smartphone or tablet.

Stereo sound with deep bass and clear highs

A 2-way acoustic design equipped with a pair of high performance JBL transducers to fill a bigger room with amazing stereo sound, deep bass and clear highs.

Immersive JBL sound with the Google Assistant

The JBL Link 500 is a voice-activated speaker with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® enabled that delivers amazing stereo sound with deep bass and clear highs for bigger rooms. It has the Google Assistant built-in. It’s your own personal Google. Always ready to help. You can ask it questions. And tell it to do things. The more you use it, the more useful it gets. Just start with “Ok Google” – a simple voice request triggers your JBL Link 500 to play music, podcasts or radio from services like Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora and more. To amplify your party, speakers with Chromecast built-in can be grouped together to enjoy the same song in every room.

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dogsnif from
You have to get one!My first impression upon taking the Link 500 out of the box was how large it is - it is bigger than it looks in pictures and is fairly hefty. That was a good sign for me! I placed the speaker on a table behind one of the den chairs - so it is essentially out of sight (a wife requirement). Setting it up from there was easy. I plugged it in, downloaded the Google Home app*, followed the app's instructions, and that was it. It only took 2 or 3 minutes. (*Actually, I had already downloaded the Google Home app for use with a Chromecast Audio I had purchased previously.)
Being an audio guy, the first thing I wanted to do was play some music. I was very happy to find that the Link 500 has Spotify built-in, especially since that is my streaming service of choice! I started out easy by asking Google to play “some Diana Krall” while I was cooking dinner. No problems there. I then followed that command by asking it to play a specific song – Midnight Rider – off of the Gregg Allman album Laid Back. The Link 500 handled that and similar request easily.
The sound is very, very nice. I had previously experienced this kind sound in my den with some of my small to midsized bookshelf speakers (including JBL's). The Link 500 replaced those speakers and went on to fill my large living room (400 sq ft) with excellent sound without taking up near as much space. The music playing filled the den with clear sound at even low volumes without being overbearing. The bass was smooth and the highs were crisp and clear without distortion.
I had previously relied on a ZAGG Origin Portable Bluetooth Speaker to stream music in the den and its smaller version in the master bathroom. Those speakers are not voice activated however and they do not offer a mobile interface. Listening to the Link 500 and the larger ZAGG for ten minutes, I realized that I was more at ease with the sound produced by the Link 500. Even the most over-the-top songs (think Brass Monkey by the Beastie Boys) were enjoyable even at high volume.
The Link 500 is the first voice activated speaker I’ve used. The only thing that comes close was Siri on my iPhone. I thought that speaking to the speaker would be difficult as, in my limited experience, voice activated products leave a lot to be desired. That was not a problem with the Link 500. After its initial voice training, it recognized my “Hey Google” commands every time – whether shouted over the railing upstairs to almost whispering it in the same room. I was impressed! Other than my requests to play specific pieces of music, I typically used the built-in Google Assistant to make requests about the weather and to set timers. I did put it through its paces by requesting such things as: the temperature of the dark side of Mercury, the distance to a certain address in a distant city and even the meaning of the initials JBL – which it answered perfectly – James Bullough Lansing!
To sum up, I find that the JBL Link 500 is a good-looking speaker and is very simple to operate. It also has excellent built in capabilities and when it is playing music it is really impressive. In other words, you have to get one!

Date published: 2018-05-17

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jart from
Link 500 - Superior sound, sufficient Google HomeThe JBL Link 500 combines JBL's exceptional sound engineering with Google's home management tools. At first glance, this thing is huge! See the pictures. It is 14 1/2" x 7 5/8" x 6 1/8" and weighs almost 8 pounds. The Link 500 produces full bodied sound with the high fidelity that is expected of JBL. The only fault of the Link is Google Home.
Google Home functions well, but it takes some getting used to. There are plenty of commands to use, but there is not a book included listing them. So, you have to do your own homework to figure out how to make the most of your Link 500 with Google Home. The voice recognition is good, but you have to speak loudly and clearly to get its attention.
Overall, since Google Home could be updated to have better commands and interaction, and the sound quality is excellent, I highly recommend the JBL Link 500.

Date published: 2018-05-02

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kevin1015 from
Great SoundThis speaker has amazing sound quality. It sounds great and even when you turn the speaker full blast, the sound quality is still great. It gets pretty loud and works for parties or just chilling by yourself. The Google assistant is a great feature as well. It is very convenient and a nice additional feature. One of my friends has a Bose SoundTouch 30 wireless speaker and this speaker sounds just as good, plus it has a Google assistant.

Date published: 2018-04-30

Rated 5 out of
5 by
AndeS from
Wow! Great sound and ease of use.I really enjoy the sound quality and convenience of the JBL 500. Although slightly larger than anticipated, it is worth the extra space. Already have recommended to several friends and relatives.

Date published: 2018-04-29

Rated 5 out of
5 by
SF415 from
LOVE THE DESIGN & PORTABILITYTHANK U JBL FOR ADDING GOOGLE ASSISTANT TO THIS GREAT SPEAKER, NOT 2 MENTION BLUETOOTH COMPATIBLE ALL IN ONE, NOW I DON'T HAVE 2 OPEN MY LAPTOP OR USE DATA ON MY CELL 2 SEARCH FOR MUSIC OR ANYTHING ELSE ON THE INTERNET...ALL U HAVE 2 DO IS ASK & U DEFINITELY, MOST DEFINITELY SHALL RECEIVE!!! MUST MENTION THE PACKAGING! LOVE 2 BE ABLE 2 OPEN THE BOX & SEE HOW JBL MAKES SURE THAT THEIR PRODUCTS ARE ALWAYZ THE BEST FROM THE INSIDE OUT!!!...HANDS DOWN BEST SOUND, AMAZING DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY ALL ROLLED INTO 1...DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN JBL BABY!!! OTHERS TRY 2 DUPLICATE BUT THERE'S NO COMPARISON WHEN IT COMES TO JBL'S CRAFT....CANT WAIT 2 SEE WHAT JBL WILL DEBUT NEXT...WAITING WITH SUCH ANTICPATION...THANKS JBL FOR BEING TOP NOTCH IN THE WORLD OF SOUND !!!

Will you have to plug this into the wall or is it fully wireless?

That's correct - it has to be plugged into the wall for utilization. Only the Link 10 and Link 20 are wireless in the Link Series speakers.

Answered by: Zoe at Customer Service

Date published: 2018-08-31

can this JBL Link 500 to make phone call / take phone call?

Asked by: Yu guang Chen

The JBL Link 500 with Google Assistant supports hands-free calling, so you can call your contacts using just your voice. Answering incoming calls and calls to emergency services are currently not supported.

Answered by: Steven M

Date published: 2018-03-30

Can alarms be set?

Asked by: Subtlerror

does not work on any of the Link line, sorry :(

Answered by: Subtlerror

Date published: 2018-03-21

Can this speaker connect to wireless microphone? Or any JBL products include wireless mic?

Asked by: Nov90

No. The Link 500 can only connect to Google Home assistant products via the Google Home App.

Answered by: Mario at Customer service

Date published: 2018-10-02

Is this battery operated or direct output?

Asked by: Anton20000

The Link 500 does not have a battery and requires to be plugged in to work.

Answered by: Mario at Customer service

Date published: 2018-07-17

Can the Link 500 be linked together with other bluetooth speakers

Asked by: jack cash

Hi! As of this moment, the JBL Link 500 is not capable of connecting to other speakers.

Answered by: Nick F

Date published: 2018-04-04

Can this speaker connect to my JBL charge 3?

Asked by: purplemurplegiraffe

No, Our Link speakers do not have the Connect feature to connect to your JBL Charge 3.

Answered by: Mario at Customer service

Date published: 2018-05-05

Is the Link 500 able to connect to other speakers with chromecast audios?

Asked by: Filip54679

Hi! If the Link 500 is set up in to the same group in the as the Chromecast Audio in the Google Home app, then yes it should be able to connect to them.